Further to the verdict in the case brought about by the Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW) against Dr Helen Webberley (05.10.18), GenderGP would like to reassure current and future patients that their care is unaffected.
There will be no break in service and we will continue to provide excellent support and healthcare to all those in need.
Below is an overview of the situation, from Helen herself, should you wish to know more:
Despite the HIW’s findings, people continued to ask for help and as such, myself and my husband, Dr Mike Webberley, continued to offer support in our capacity as GMC registered doctors. Working privately in this capacity is entirely in accordance with our capabilities and is akin to a doctor taking on such a role in their local private hospital. This is a wholly recognised and accepted approach in the UK.
I am entirely convinced, and have had this corroborated by many patients using our services, that had we stopped supporting them during this period, it would have resulted in them coming to harm, which is why I sought an alternative route. Many of the people we have helped were self medicating through unregulated sources due to lengthy waiting lists on the NHS of up to four years. The service we provided ensured that the care they were receiving was genuine and any medication they were taking came from a legitimate source. Patient safety has been my priority throughout.
Today’s verdict is hugely disappointing and hinges on the definition of what does or does not constitute a clinic in the eyes of the HIW. This has interfered with the provision of care by qualified experts to people who genuinely need help and support.
In his capacity as gender specialist, Dr Mike Webberley will continue to provide patients with the highest standards of care and I will continue to fight for the rights of this marginalised group, while awaiting the verdict of the GMC investigation into my work supporting gender variant patients, which is ongoing.
Should anyone have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to visit our Help Centre and get in touch with us.
If you would like to show your support for Dr Helen Webberley, we welcome any positive feedback you would like to share. You can post on the comment section below, via our Twitter or Facebook page.
Thanks for your support.
The GenderGP team
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Dear Helen,
I was staggered to read of the verdict by HIW in the paper this morning. It sounded very serious. You were there for me at a very dark time in my life when I felt I had no one else to turn to. You, more than anyone else helped me carry on. Is there anything I can do to help?
Love, Frankie
As an ex patient, I wish you all the best of luck for 2nd November. Thanks again for the help (and hormones) you gave me.
in my experience the system in the the UK on the NHS is massively underfunded and you have to bend to their definition of MtF for example, GenderGP listens to the patient as we are ALL different , I hope this dos not effect GenderGP but might highlight the problem.
I want to express my full support for the work that Gender gp have been doing to support trans patients.I have found them to be caring, professional and very thorough.Also the fact that individual circumstances are fully considered.I want to thank you for all you have done.I have recommended you to many who are desperate due to excessively long waiting lists caused by a huge increase in demand and need over the last few years.
I returned to UK after 18 yrs in Canada. Almost immediately I became a patient of Dr Webberley. It was imperative that I began my medical transition as soon as possible and Helen helped me do this when our own completely inadequate NHS services did not see or care that my situation was desperate. Dr Webberley even reduced her monthly fee as I was on extremely low income being disabled etc. At one point she even offered to waive her fee. That is compassion in action. Having been involved in trans support I referred many people to gender GP and to see the change in people when Gender GP stepped up to the plate is heart warming. Without Dr Webberley’s timely help there is a possibility I would not be here today. If I had not found Gender GP I would definitely have gone the hazardous route of unsupervised self medication. Thank you Gender GP you gave me my life and I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. I sincerely hope that your life saving practice can get past the paper pushers and continue to save lives. ❤️
As a former patient, and as I’m sure all others will agree, you provide an absolutely invaluable service for a group of people who are being completely let down by other areas of the health service so this attack on your service is absolutely disgusting. Best wishes and I hope everything turns out well so that you can continue to improve the lives of countless other trans people.